RCRD LBL Essentials Vol. 13

It’s Thursday, so that means it’s time for another exclusive RCRD LBL Essentials Playlist! Featuring brand new tracks from Soulja Boy,Eli Escobar, Gonjasufi and more.

Say what you will about his music, Soulja Boy is one of the best entrepreneurs in the rap game. In 2007 he catapulted himself into the stratosphere of hip hop stardom with the song “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” which he self released on the internet. The track’s off kilter beat, huge chorus and viral music video (which doubled as an instructional dance video) made a huge splash, eventually becoming a #1 hit on the Billboard charts for seven weeks.

Now we’ve got his new track “Too Faded (feat.Game).” It’s sound isn’t quite as quirky as some of his earlier tracks, where he used purposefully stuttering rhythms to set his sound apart from other rappers, but its ominous, bell tolling instrumentals give both rappers to wax poetic on familiar themes of being messed up, driving awesome cars, picking up girls, and going to the club.

For the most part “Too Faded” pretty standard stuff, but on the song’s bridge Soulja Boy does gets weird for a bit – adding some odd vocal ad libs to the beat. While with other artists this sort of stunt might not really come off, Soulja has a true knack for adding that little off-beat element that makes a track stick and that is what separates him from the rest of the pack.

Another interesting figure in the hip-hop scene isGonjasufi, who has a track from his new album MU.ZZ.LE on this week’s Essentials Playlist. Part singer, part rapper, yoga instructor – Gonjasufi is an artist that is difficult to pin down. He has been recording music since the early-90’s in the San Diego hip-hop scene, most notably with the Masters of the Universe Crew. His track on this Playlist, “Nikels and Dimes,” sees him crooning over an ethereal beat. It’s a beautiful song that sounds like little else out there right now.

Rounding out this week’s Essentials Playlist we’ve got some great rock songs fromOberhofer, Museum Mouth and Veronica Falls, as well as your electro fix from Eli Escobar and Bear in Heaven.